


He Knows

by Lokislittlearmy



Series: Miraculous Reveals [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Awkward Dates, F/M, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, Identity Reveal, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 17:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6087546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lokislittlearmy/pseuds/Lokislittlearmy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“What am I going to do?” she wondered aloud. Part of her wanted to scream. Part of her wanted to never transform again. And a tiny part of her wanted to know who Cat Noir was beneath the mask.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Individual Conversations

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so we reach the conclusion of the AU! I mean, I'm probably going to write more because I have the urgent need to write Hawkmoth's reveal. But anyway.  
> That being said, you should *probably* read the rest of the series before this.  
> Please enjoy!

_He knows._

That was the only thought crossing Marinette’s mind as she paced her floor. Tikki watched her from the desk. “What am I going to do?” she wondered aloud. Part of her wanted to scream. Part of her wanted to never transform again. And a tiny part of her wanted to know who Cat Noir was beneath the mask. She stopped her pacing abruptly, eyes shooting to Tikki. “Why did you tell him?”

“He was never going to get it,” Tikki explained. She took another bite of her cookie. “Believe me, there are worse ways Ladybug and Cat Noir have found out about each other.” She flew over to Marinette. “Why didn’t you accept his offer?”

Marinette sighed. “I don’t think I want to find out who he is. It’s bad enough that he knows who I am.” Realization crossed her face. “Does this mean he knows me outside of our superhero identities?”

Tikki shrugged. “Not necessarily, it wouldn’t. But he does.”

The girl held back a groan. He’d be able to talk to her, be around her all the time. And Marinette would have no idea. Perhaps she should just keep an eye out for any increase in puns from her classmates. Or flirting.

“I’m sure you’ll figure out what to do, Marinette. You always do.”

“Thanks, Tikki.” Marinette slumped. “I have homework to finish, don’t I?”

A couple miles away, Cat Noir was sliding into his bedroom. He transformed back into Adrien and flopped onto his bed. “That went exactly as well as I expected it to,” he said. The pillow muffled his groan. 

Plagg settled beside him. “Well, it could have gone worse.”

Adrien turned his head to face the kwami. “How do you figure?”

“She could have slapped you. Or just run away. There are a lot of things that are worse. Just look on the bright side.”

“What bright side?” Adrien questioned.

Plagg shrugged. Adrien gave him a glare before slamming his face back into the pillow. “She hates me.”

His cell phone rang. Plagg rolled his eyes at the cheery tune. “Hello?” Adrien said with his phone to his ear.

“Hey,” Marinette greeted. He could almost hear her internal groan as she tried not to stutter. “I-I have some time later. I was wondering if you’d like to go to the cinema with me?”

Adrien’s face lit up with a grin. “Absolutely. Anything you want to see?”

“Meet me at six?”

“Of course.” He said goodbye and hung up. The phone hit his pillow with a dull thud as he sat up. “I don’t know if I can do this, Plagg.”

Plagg groaned. “Kid, you’re Cat Noir for a reason. If there’s one thing Cat is always good at, it’s the double identity thing. She’ll come to eventually, believe me.”


	2. Cineman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Villain who's really easily defeated and a reveal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to get up in less than six hours. Which might be okay for you but I'm used to eight hours. But this was going to plague me.  
> Let's be real, it still is, but at least it's a little less weight.  
> Please enjoy and don't be afraid to comment or leave a request!

Marinette was bouncing with nerves. Could the train just get here already? Tikki shot her a look from inside the purse. “Sorry,” Marinette whispered. She hopped on the train as soon as the doors open and sat down so she could at least bounce her leg. 

She was going on a date. With Adrien. _Adrien._ She was going on a date _with Adrien alone._ The thought alone sent her into a spiral of fear and ecstasy. If she was alone on the car, she would be begging Tikki for words of encouragement right now. But alas, it was rush hour.

It seemed like barely any time at all before she was getting off the train. She headed into the cinema in a daze. So much of a daze that she almost didn’t notice the villain in the center of the lobby.

“Sorry, folks! Movie’s cancelled!” the villain yelled from a megaphone. 

Marinette completely snapped out of her daze. She slid under the concessions counter and snapped open her purse. Tikki flew out to watch her groan. “Why do they always come out when I want to see a show?” Her nose scrunched up. “And when I was on a date, no less.” She seemed almost to consider for a split second. “Adrien’s probably here already! We need to protect him. Tikki, transform me!”

The first thing she saw after a flash of light was Cat Noir standing over her. “You’re lucky it was me, huh, Buginette?” He winked and held a hand out to her.

She let him pull her up. “Cool it with the nicknames, Cat. We have an akuma to catch.”

“Right,” he agreed, starting towards the lobby. “You have a date to get back to.”

All he heard from behind him was a loud sigh. “Yeah. Let’s go.” She sprinted past him and through the crowd of people. Cat Noir pole-vaulted himself over the crowd to stand beside Ladybug. 

The villain turned to face them. He looked like any standard, cliche movie director, beret and all. The only difference was the mask surrounding his eyes. He lifted the megaphone to his lips. “Oh, Ladybug and Cat Noir. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Cineman. Come to see the show?”

Ladybug put her hands on her hips. “Sorry, Cineman. The only show that’s being canceled is yours.”

Cat Noir hardly waited to launch himself at the villain, managing to get his megaphone and throw it to Ladybug. Ladybug threw it to the ground. It cracked, allowing the akuma out of its casing.

They got applause from the little audience when the clean up crew finished. The two stood beside each other to accept thanks and sign some autographs. “It’s nice to not have to run off immediately,” Cat Noir sighed.

“Yeah,” Ladybug sighed. “I have to go soon, though.” She signed one more autograph before pulling Cat Noir into an empty theater. They stood there for a few seconds. “I shouldn’t be doing this,” she said with averted eyes. It seemed more to herself than to Cat, so he didn’t respond. She looked up at him. “Cat Noir,” she started, “About earlier-”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll stop with the nicknames and everything. It’ll be like I never found out.”

“No,” she said. She put a hand up between them, a flush rising beneath her mask. “I was actually wondering-” She took a little breath. Her shoulders rose with the breath and slumped down. “Your offer from before-” Her eyes went back down to the ground. Her hand went to her side. “Does it still stand?”

Cat Noir wasn’t sure he knew what air was, exactly. It felt like it had been knocked out of him. “You want to know who I am?” Met with a short nod, Cat Noir grinned. “Okay,” he agreed. He looked around to check for anybody peeking. “Okay,” he said again, this time more to himself. “You ready?”

Ladybug nodded. “Tikki, detransform!” Pink and white bubbled around her from the tips of her toes to the top of her head. Tikki spiraled out of her earrings and into the palm of Marinette’s hand. Marinette, bluebell eyes and all, watched him with a curious stare.

He nodded to himself one last time. She would know. “Plagg, detransform!” No backing out now. Black and green swirled around him like lightning. He caught Plagg in his ring hand. He was just Adrien now, eyes closed. One eye cracked open to glance at Marinette. She was staring at him in shock and wonder, holding Tikki close to her.

“You-” She pursed her lips. A tiny smile lit up her eyes. “You _buttface_!” Laughter bubbled up out of her throat as she doubled over, still holding Tikki to her chest.

“Are you okay?” Adrien asked, taking a step closer.

“No!” She kept laughing. Tikki put up a paw to tell him to wait where he was. Plagg was silently shaking with laughter from his palm. 

It took Marinette a good couple of minutes to calm down. She stood up fully and released her death grip on Tikki. She wiped a tear from her eye, still chuckling. “That’s how you knew I was on a date,” she realized aloud. Adrien nodded. She laughed a little again.

Then the realization struck her. Cat Noir was Adrien? Oh god. It made so much sense, of course it did. But _oh god her crush was her partner all along and how was she going to ever be Ladybug again without stumbling over everything and she actually dropped him and she was stuck in a box with him and-_

Adrien was walking towards her. Plagg perched himself on his shoulder to watch. The boy put his hands on Marinette’s shoulders. “I’m still the same person, I promise. Just give or take a mask.”

Marinette nodded. “I know. It’s just. You’re-” She gestured wildly, as if moving her hands around would help her find the right words. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve had a crush on you?”

Plagg broke out into a fit of laughter, rolling behind Adrien to hide himself. Tikki tsk-ed at him from her own spot behind Marinette. And Adrien was the color of a fire truck. “Do you know how long I’ve had a crush on _you_?”

“Well, I knew Cat Noir had a crush on Ladybug-”

“Yes, and that means we officially like each other.” Adrien stopped abruptly. “I mean, if you still like me.”

The girl started laughing again. She lightly pushed at his chest, getting him to release her shoulders. “The only thing that’s warding me off is all the puns you’ve told me.”

“ _Me-owch,_ Marinette.”

“You’re not helping your case.”

“Point taken,” Adrien agreed. He glanced at his phone. “Are we still on for the movie?”

Marinette took her own phone out of her purse. “If you want to be.”

Adrien grinned and grabbed her hand. Tikki and Plagg took shelter in their respective hiding spots. He peeked out of the door before pulling her into the walkway. “We should probably get our tickets, then.” He winked at her and pulled her down the hall, Marinette following, still in that same daze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Questions? Requests? Leave something down below or stop by my writing tumblr, therearenowindows.tumblr.com <3

**Author's Note:**

> Adrien's ringtone is Ladybug's theme. You can't tell me otherwise.


End file.
